Image Description: 10 PPT members and transit advocates on a PRT bus smile at the camera, one holding up a peace sign. Some are wearing red PPT shirts.
All over Allegheny County, transit riders and workers are organizing for more affordable, accessible, safe, and equitable service—and PPT’s committee meetings are where the magic happens!
Each month, PPT’s members and volunteers come together in our different committees to decide the strategies and tactics that we will take to further our campaigns—and put in the work to win them.
All committee meetings are open to PPT members, and anyone else looking to get more involved in our work. Currently, all meetings are conducted in English, with live Spanish and ASL interpretation available on request.
Note: ASL and Spanish interpretation must be booked in advance. Given availability constraints for our interpreters, we are most likely to successfully book with 2 weeks or more of lead time. If interpreters are not available, Closed Captioning will be available for virtual meetings. Please email clair@pittsburghforpublictransit.org when registering to request interpretation.
Organizing Committee
We need to grow our movement to win our campaigns—and the Organizing Committee works to bring more people on board to PPT’s work, every month. The committee hosts regular phone banks and canvasses at bus stops, building relationships with riders and workers and bringing them into our campaigns. The Organizing Committee meets in-person at our Shadyside office, except in cases of inclement weather or similar circumstances.
For an idea of the Organizing Committee’s work, check out the syllabus for its 2025 training series. No prior experience is required to join the committee, just a willingness to talk to your neighbors about transit justice!
You might be a good fit for the Organizing Committee if…
- You enjoy talking to people
- You thrive on building relationships
- You want to learn more about the most urgent Transit Justice issues facing our community.
Communications Committee
Building the narrative of Transit Justice in our community is a critical part of our work. The Communications Committee hosts monthly virtual working meetings to tell the story of PPT’s campaigns, successes, and struggles. During these meetings, attendees help produce content that communicates our work to the public— including writing blogs, editing videos, creating content for our social media channels, curating photography, and doing graphic design.
Since 2025, the Communications Committee has been a joint space for members of Pittsburghers for Public Transit and supporters of Transit for All PA!, the statewide transit campaign that we lead. Supporters of both organizations are welcome at these meetings, and we may work on projects relevant to Allegheny County or elsewhere in Pennsylvania.
You might be a good fit for the Communications Committee if…
- You love writing and/or social media content creation
- You have experience with photography, graphic design, or web design
Note: Communications Committee meetings often involve working closely with documents on Google Docs or sourced from the internet, looking at photographs or video online, or creating content using the online image creation tool Canva. Please keep this in mind if that might pose an accessibility challenge for you.
Join the meeting ready to learn and create something together!
Research Committee
The Research Committee is the brain of PPT’s policy work, hosting weekly working meetings to conduct data and policy research in support of our campaigns. During these meetings, attendees analyze data, investigate policies active in other cities, and assemble reports that recommend action that can improve our transit system. Check out the Research Committee’s past work to see the types of projects you might collaborate on as part of the Research Committee.
Since 2025, the Research Committee has been a joint space for members of Pittsburghers for Public Transit and supporters of Transit for All PA!, the statewide transit campaign that we lead. Supporters of both organizations are welcome at these meetings, and we may work on projects relevant to Allegheny County or elsewhere in Pennsylvania.
You might be a good fit for the Research Committee if…
- You have a knack for crunching numbers
- You consider yourself a policy wonk
- You love chasing research topics down a rabbit hole
- You have an academic or professional background in data, research or planning (although neither is required to join the committee!)
Note: Research committee meetings often involve working closely with documents, on Google Docs or sourced from the internet. Please keep this in mind if that might pose an accessibility challenge for you.
Accessibility Committee
Disability Justice and accessibility are indispensable parts of PPT’s work. As we organize for accessible, dignified transit for everyone, we strive to create a community where all are welcome, valued, and comfortable—no matter their ability.
We honor the feedback of our disabled community members in working to improve the ease and depth of access for all people to participate in PPT’s work. The Accessibility Committee is a space for PPT members to offer accessibility feedback, and help us eliminate barriers to our work put in place by disability, language, and other social constructs.
In 2025, PPT’s long-standing Accessibility Committee—which had previously met monthly—moved to instead operate on an ad-hoc basis, coordinating a Google Group where members could share feedback with staff, and staff could ask members for their expertise on accessibility practices that work with our community.
If you have feedback to share with us about the accessibility of our events, or would like to join the ad-hoc Accessibility Committee, please email clair@pittsburghforpublictransit.org.